Is this a scam?

I went to see a psychic for the first time and she shared with me a lot of accurate facts about myself and my family. She also told me that my dad's side of the family has an ancestrial curse from many generations past and that I was the Chosen one to break it. She said that I would have to give her my full name and birthdate to carve into specially made candles and that would cost me $500. I'm torn..Is this a scam or is this a true family curse? If it is a scam, how could she get most of the information correct? $500 is a lot of money and I don't want to do certain things that would bring me further from God. Please help me. Thank you for your time.

S

It's absolutely, positively 100% a scam. I have no doubt of that whatsoever, and I am so glad you asked this question. This is a common scam, and usually what happens next is the problems you were having continue, so you keep going back for more blessed candles until the psychic drains you dry.

Psychic ability isn't a sign of advanced spiritual growth. It's not a guarantee of even basic human goodness. It's a talent, like any other creative talent, and can be used for good or ill.

Are there family curses? Maybe. It may be there is a thread of dysfunctional energy running through your family and you may be the Chosen One to break that cycle (hint: the "Chooser" is YOU). I recommend you take the $500 you would have spend on the candles, and put it towards some kind of personal growth class. Learn about the reaction cycle, about forgiveness, and how to break the patterns of abuse. I have recommended one class here many times, The QuinnTessential Experience - there are others out there as well. I have recently discovered the work of Caroline Myss, and highly recommend her books and workshops. Study self esteem, build your confidence. All these things will bring you blessings and power that you can't begin to imagine now. All the "blessed candles" will do is make the bank balance of this "psychic" a bit bigger. How you break the cycle is to learn to love and respect yourself ... and doing that will also bring you closer to God.

Brandi

Censorship of Psychic Fraud Story?

I was surfing and Stumbling the other day when I stumbled across this story:

Fortune Teller Becomes Fortune Stealer ... with the notation that this particular story was being censored in blogs.

I decided to test that by writing my own story on it. It's relevant here, because it shows how easy it is to defraud even the wealthy and well-educated. In this particular case the former wife of the Sultan of Brunei, Mariam Aziz, was allegedly taken for $4.7 million dollars by a psychic who also allegedly tried to blackmail her, among other things.

As a professional psychic, I am appauled by this story, and stories like this one. I feel it is vital to get these stories out as warnings to the vulnerable, who are unfortunately drawn to psychics at the lowest times in their lives. I sincerely hope this story is not being censored. While the average fraudulent psychic is usally caught long before they can cause this kind of damage, I have had numerous stories of ordinary people being taken for their life's savings. Legitimate psychics charge between $30-$300 for a reading. We don't charge $10,000 for "blessed" candles (if we sell them at all, the going price should be in range of any scented candle, IMNSHO). We don't take "curses" off your love life in exchange for steep fees. If you love your psychic and he or she has been helpful to you, I have no objection if you make a financial gift of appreciation ... but that's a different thing altogether. Use your common sense. If the service offered seems too good to be true, at too high a price, chances are excellent you are dealing with a fraud artist.